Note: In Week 4, you submitted Part 1 of the Module 2 Assignment. You will complete and submit Parts 2 and 3 this week.
As a reminder, you will continue to act as a manager who has been co-leading an important project with a fellow manager. Your colleague held up delivery of the project and made comments expressing his displeasure to others. You scheduled an in-person conversation with your colleague to discuss the matter and conducted the conversation with your colleague using an online simulation platform. This week, you will reflect on your simulation experience and follow up with your colleague via a draft email to document the results of your conversation. As you complete Part 2 of your Assignment, be sure to include specific examples where applicable, as well as relevant citations from the Learning Resources, the Walden Library, and/or other appropriate academic sources.
BY DAY 7
Submit Parts 2 and 3 of the Module 2 Assignment, which should address the following:
PART 2: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND APPROACHES (APPROXIMATELY 5 PAGES)
Once you have completed the online, simulated one-on-one conversation with your peer, you will analyze your experience and then write up your analysis of effective communication skills and approaches that can be applied in any professional conversation—but specifically when you need to address conflict of any kind. As part of your reflection, you will consider the ways in which you can not only improve your communication skills going forward but also use these skills to be a more effective change agent. Be sure to address the following:
- Did you reach an agreement that takes into account the needs, concerns, and perspectives of both stakeholders? Why or why not?
- What impact (positive and negative, if possible) did your preparation have on the outcome? Provide a rationale to support your analysis.
- What best practices/strategies (from the Learning Resources) did you incorporate into your conversation? For each best practice/strategy, be sure to include a minimum of one scholarly source for support.
- Which of the best practices/strategies do you believe you incorporated successfully, and which do you feel you could have done a better job at incorporating into this conversation? Be specific in your answer.
- Based on this experience—and considering what went well and what you want to improve—what are three specific things you will do in future difficult conversation scenarios?
- Finally, in what ways do you predict your enhanced communication skills could enable you to be a more effective change agent? Provide specific details to support your answer.
PART 3: FOLLOWING UP (APPROXIMATELY 1 PAGE)
For the final part of your Assignment, apply your understanding of best practices related to effective communication, as well as the importance of perception in communication, to prepare a draft email to your colleague that documents what, if any, resolution the two of you reached and sets the tone for your work going forward. Be sure to utilize an appropriate professional, collegial tone; express gratitude for the opportunity to have the conversation; detail the specific commitments each of you has made (or agreed to); and state your appreciation for the specific ways in which your colleague brings value to the working relationship.
Refer to the Week 6 Assignment Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.
Week 6 Assignment Template Handling Difficult Conversations—Communication Analysis: Parts 2 and 3
Prepared by: Replace this text with your name.
Date: Replace this text with the submission date.
Walden University
WMBA 6695: Communication for Leaders and Managers
Part 2: Effective Communication Skills and Approaches
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Part 3: Following Up
Replace or remove this text with the text of your email to Adam.
References
[Please delete this note before submitting your Assessment. For more information about formatting your reference list, please visit the following site: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/references .]
Include appropriately formatted references to support your Assessment. Refer to the Assessment guidelines for further information on the requirements.
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Common Internal Business Communication Channels
Facilitates simple, efficient, professional communication between individuals (or groups).
Face-to-Face
Enables individuals to benefit from various cues, including tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions; helpful for more sensitive or complicated interactions to ensure clarity.
Agendas
Provide a structure and focus for meetings and communicate intended goals or outcomes to participants.
Private Messaging
Fosters team camaraderie and informal chats as well as quick information sharing and one-on-one discussions between colleagues.
Phone Calls
Afford individuals an opportunity to convey a sense of urgency and get answers or share information quickly.
Video Conferencing
Enables virtual meetings for colleagues at a distance to connect on a more personal level.
Internal Social Media
Enhances knowledge sharing, collaboration, and communication between employees and management.
Intranet
Serves as a centralized source of news, information, and content sharing for teams within an organization.
Project Management Tools
Allow employees to create and assign tasks to team members that are organized into boards.
Document Sharing
Stores and organizes important shared files so that designated users can access them from a central location.